Pam Keith, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully last year for the U.S. Senate, gave a fiery speech at The Villages Democrat Club meeting Sunday evening at Rohan Recreation Center.
In an attempt to rally her fellow Democrats for the 2018 mid-term elections, she asked some soul-searching questions.
Where are we? Who are we? What must be done?
“The assessment of our election is not that GOP turnout was particularly high, it’s that Democratic turnout was low,” Keith stated as she compared Democratic turnout in 2016 to that in 2008 and 2012.
Watch video of Keith’s visit:
She then implored the audience to take the time to speak with those who did not vote and understand the reasons behind their decisions in preparation for the midterm elections.
One of the core reasons Americans decided to vote for Donald Trump was a need for change, Keith explained.
“It is our fault that they didn’t know unemployment has gone down. It is our fault they have no idea that we’ve reduced the deficit and that crime is down under Obama’s watch,” she said.
Where the Democratic Party is, according to Keith, is in a position where they must now save the nation from a leader who she says “sees himself as an authoritarian.”
Keith encouraged members that a Donald Trump presidency, however, is the best thing to happen to Democrats as it will invigorate the party to work even harder to hold politicians in office accountable and to spread a new message of the Democratic party.
To prepare for the midterm elections, Keith implored the audience to not begin mobilizing voters closer to the election date, but to start now. She also suggested that the party should create their own unifying theme, just as the Republicans had during this past election season.
“We need to start thinking differently: bigger, deeper, more connected and acting daily to convince people we care. That is our mission for 2018,” she said.